But Hollande got lucky. Sarkozy’s most dynamic opponent a year ago seemed sure to be former finance minister and then””International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. But DSK suddenly flamed out in scandals in New York and France before he ever had a chance to announce he intended to run. And once Hollande got the nomination, he made what now appears to have been the wise decision to present himself as the candidate of “normal.” Even his campaign T-shirts proclaim that bland virtue.

The Socialist candidate has promised to raise taxes on big corporations and people earning more than 1m euros a year. He also wants to raise the minimum wage, hire 60,000 more teachers and lower the retirement age from 62 to 60 for some workers.

Lowering the retirement age, however, is just plain irresponsible.

The far-right wing is in “shock,” with the turnout around 80%, because the French seem to want Sarkozy out.

Somewhere FranÃƒÂ§ois Mitterrand is smiling.

That FranÃƒÂ§ois Hollande is now the first from the French Socialist party to get this close to the presidency since Mitterand is due to two primary events. The unpopularity of current French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and the libidinous lechery of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund whose arrogant idiocy has gotten him entangled in sex scandals in the last year, which should have been a campaign year for him. Nothing yet from Anne Sinclair in the English edition of HuffPost, who is not only Strauss-Kahn’s wife, but the editor of Huffington Post’s French edition.

The Financial Times has a profile of FranÃƒÂ§ois Hollande, which is free to read after registering.

Hollande promises “fiscal discipline, but plans to raise spending and taxes,” as well as tackle Sarkozy’s pension reforms.

I wonder how Dominique Strauss-Kahn will soothe himself after blowing the chance to be president of France. It all started going down hill because he allegedly couldn’t keep his hands off a hotel maid.

Sex and France go together like Scotch and ice. It’s just that it gets a little creepy when headlines start blaring about a one-percenter who wants to be the next French president can’t keep his sexual exploits out of the international press.

I guess that there is simply no point in mentioning that the only crime Strauss-Kahn is known to have committed was in being accused of a sex crime. That this is something we are still snarking at the guy over, that this is something we are using as a hammer to bludgeon him (“gee, you really blew it, letting us falsely accuse you like that, loser”) tells us a lot about ourselves, and nothing about Strauss-Kahn.

All that said, I hope Hollande really means it when he says “I don’t like the rich.” And i hope he keeps his promises and becomes the most popular president in the history of France. Maybe our own President would learn a thing or too. Nah, not likely.

Sex and France go together like Scotch and ice. It’s just that it gets a little creepy when headlines start blaring about a one-percenter who wants to be the next French president can’t keep his sexual exploits out of the international press.

Is it really about the notoriety itself? To me, the DSK came off as a creep in most of those encounters – one of those predatory rich folks (usually men) who use their power to get what they want, even those they want it from don’t want to give it to them. That’s what would bother me about the guy.